1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to clips for securing wire harnesses to vehicle surfaces, and more specifically to a clip with a stud bolt retainer that can accommodate different-sized stud bolts and can be removed from the stud bolt without damage to the retainer and clip.
2. Discussion of Related Art
One type of a conventional wire harness clip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,882. The clip comprises an open, contoured or curved shell to which a wire harness can be taped. The shell is integral with a flat section forming a stud retainer. The retainer includes an aperture through the flat section and upward-angled, flexible, radial grippers extending into the aperture from its inner circumferential wall. A threaded weld stud protrudes from a vehicle body panel or other frame surface and is forced through the aperture, securing the clip and thereby the wire harness to the vehicle. The grippers are flexed or bent by the threads until they are engaged between selected threads and friction fit against the threads. The traditional shape of the threads and the angle and design of the radial grippers hinder removal of the retainer from the stud. The insertion force of the stud into the beam aperture is relatively high, since the flat section has to be forced onto the weld stud through and against the grippers. During disassembly, or the reverse of insertion, the grippers cannot flex as readily and may often be damaged, reducing the ability of the retainer to clamp against the stud properly or even preventing reuse of the clip. In addition, it is more than likely that a different clip having specifically-sized aperture and projections has to be provided for each stud size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,338 discloses a wire harness clip that can be released from a stud or bolt and reused. Resilient members with teeth for engaging the threads of the stud have free ends extending away from each other. The free ends can be gripped and forced apart to separate the teeth from the threads, allowing removal of the clip from the stud. However, the clip cannot be adjusted for different-sized studs while maintaining optimal engagement of the teeth and threads. The resilient members are not locked into position around the stud and it appears that they can be inadvertently released from the stud if accidentally bumped or jostled.
Prior art attempts to provide a clip that accommodates different types of threads include U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,647. A claw arrangement in a retainer is designed to absorb variations in the bolt pitch and still provide a strong holding power. But the retainer does not adapt to variations in stud or bolt size and it seems that each claw must somehow be manually retracted from the threads before attempting to remove the retainer from the bolt.